Canada title success for Musselburgh footballers

Canada title success for Musselburgh footballers

TWO Musselburgh football friends have claimed a national title. . . nearly 3,000 miles from the Honest Toun.

Euan Bauld and Lewis White were an integral part of the Cape Breton University (CBU) Capers side that clinched a first ever University Sport Canada National Championship.

Former Rangers youth player White and ex-Haddington Athletic star Bauld helped the side retain their Atlantic University Sport (AUS) title, booking their place in the national finals.

Ater beating the University of Quebec in the semi-finals, they faced the University of Montreal in the final and led until 20 minutes from the end.

Montreal hit back to level and then took the lead in extra-time before the Capers forced a penalty shoot-out.

Bauld scored from 12 yards, while White was not required to take a spot-kick, and a save sparked jubilant scenes for the Nova Scotia side.

Former Musselburgh Grammar School pupil Lewis, who left Rangers in January to begin studying at the Canadian university and take up a football scholarship thanks to Sporting Futures USA, told Courier Sport he was “delighted” with the win.

He said: “It was the first time the program has won it so to win it how we did in our first year was amazing.

“I was confident in winning a title over in Canada because I knew the team had won AUS the year before and knew they were top-class players; also coming from a winning mentality background I wasn’t going to let anyone stand in our way of winning.”

Ex-Burgh Primary School pupil Bauld, who also attended Musselburgh Grammar, said he was “over the moon” with the win.

And the 20-year-old added: “The last four months have absolutely flown by – it’s been an incredible experience.

“Travelling all around Canada playing football with a great bunch of lads, I couldn’t ask for anything better – its been amazing so far.”

White, 19, is certain he does not want to return to Scottish football, having spent six years on the books at Rangers.

He added: “My time here has been amazing, I wouldn’t change any of it. I’ve been all over the country playing the game I love and meeting people from all over the world.

“Once my four years finish at CBU I am not sure what I want to do yet, [but] I don’t think there is anything in Scotland that I would want to do now. I want to play abroad and experience the world.”

Bauld, meanwhile, added: “After my four years are up here I am unsure what I am going to do or where I am going to go.

“I’ll just take everything as it comes and hopefully new doors will open with time over here.”

To top things off, left-back White was named in the national tournament’s All-Star XI.

While he admits it was “a shock”, White, who represented Scotland at U14, U15 and U16 level, was thrilled to have made the all-star side.

He said: “I never even thought about it going into nationals. I just went out and tried my best for the games we played and if I got anything else, it would just be a bonus.

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